BERKELEY – When Cal men's basketball alumnus Shareef Abdur-Rahim and his wife, Dee Dee, were students at UC Berkeley, the resources provided to them meant everything.
 
Now the couple has ensured that present and future Golden Bear student-athletes will have access to greater resources, as they have contributed an impactful gift in support of the Cameron Institute endowment.
 
"Being connected to the Cameron Institute the past couple of years has provided me the chance to see the work that is being done for Cal's student-athletes and the support coming from (Cameron Institute Board Chairman) Bryan Cameron," Abdur-Rahim said. "In all of my close work with athletics, I have not seen anything close to what the Cameron Institute is doing to enhance the student-athlete experience."
 
The gift will go toward the Cameron Institute's mission of being a world-class system for developing student-athletes through three main pillars – career development, community engagement and partnerships, and mental performance and leadership development.
 
"We are incredibly grateful for Shareef and Dee Dee's longstanding support of Cal Athletics and their generous commitment to the Cameron Institute endowment," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "They are tremendous examples of what it means to be Golden Bears and we are excited to receive their support in building the Cameron Institute into the nation's premier department of student-athlete development."
 
Abdur-Rahim arrived in Berkeley as one of the nation's top recruits ahead of the 1995-96 season and lived up to the hype, becoming the first player ever to be named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. He went on to become the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft following his one season in Berkeley and had a 12-year career that included stints with four organizations.  Shareef was selected as an NBA All-Star in 2002 and also won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team in 2000.
 
When his playing days concluded, Abdur-Rahim became a league executive, including serving as the NBA Vice President of Basketball Operations before being named the president of the G League in 2018, a position he still holds. Abdur-Rahim returned to Cal to earn his degree in sociology in 2012 and has been a Cameron Institute Advisory Board member since 2020. He was also the recipient of the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award during the 2019-20 Cal men's basketball season. The award is presented to a Cal men's basketball alumnus who has distinguished himself in his career accomplishments, upholding the highest ideals of Coach Newell and the University of California, Berkeley.
 
In 2001, Dee Dee and Shareef, along with Shareef's sister, Qaadirah Abdur-Rahim '99, founded the Future Foundation, a non-profit that offers free academic, physical, social and developmental enrichment programs to over 4,000 disadvantaged and at-risk youth in the greater Atlanta area.
 
"Cal really prepared us to move on with our lives, professionally," said Dee Dee, a 1997 Cal alumna who became a criminal defense attorney, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. "We left campus with the confidence that we could not just be successful, but that we could thrive in our careers."
 
With two children, Jabri – a student-athlete on the men's basketball team at the University of Georgia – and Samiyah, the couple understands the hardships that students and families have to endure, as well as the sacrifices that are made when playing sports.
 
"I have immense gratitude for the generosity Shareef has shown the Cameron Institute," said Dr. Marissa Nichols, Director of the Cameron Institute. "As a Cameron Institute Advisory Board member and an important sports industry leader, Shareef has already provided invaluable strategic vision and input as we grow the Cameron Institute. It is special to have his and Dee Dee's philanthropic commitment, too. These transformational gifts are very important toward our ultimate goal of reaching a 40-million-dollar endowment."
 
"I am very appreciative of Shareef and Dee Dee's gift in support of the Cameron Institute," Bryan Cameron said. "Their gift is evidence of their generosity, their appreciation for their education at Cal, and their confidence that the Cameron Institute is making a significant impact in the lives of our student-athletes.  We are very fortunate to have Shareef and Dee Dee as distinguished members of the Cal family."
 
For more information on how to make a gift to support the Cameron Institute, please call the Cal Athletics Fund office at (510) 642-2427 or email CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu.